Resilient wheel.



H. COLLEYS. RESILIENT WHEN.

APPLICATION FILED 1ML).

. vwanto/v H. E. COLLEYS 4H. E. coLLEY-s.

RESILIENT WHEEL.

APPL ICATION FILED JAN-9.1915.

Patnted Apr. 4,191.6. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 H. E. COLLYS UNITED sfrans A,

1. i. A ggnnNnYn coIrLiaYs-orl To all 'fw'homz't may concern:

Be it known tliat'fl, HENRY E. CoLLnYs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hammond, in the county of Lake and State of Indi-anafhave invented certain new and useful-improvements in Resilient vWheels, of' which lthe following is a specification, /reference being hadj-to the accompanying f drawings. v l0. My invention relates ,to vehicle wheels, and particularly to resilient wheels designed to take'the'place-'of wheels equipped with `the ordinary rubber or pneumatic tires. The primary object of my invention is the v.provision-@of a' very` simplev resilient Wheel whichfshah beV thoroughly effective yinl action, Very durable,I and 'which shall be extremely simple-in' construction. 2d

A further.; object of the invention is the provision of a resilient wheel vso constructed that any of the'spokes may be removed and replaced with relative ease,and that in case any ofthe spokes 'are broken they may be temporarily cut olf4 short,'close to the hub and rims so that they shall not foul any part'l ofthe vehicle land sothat the wheel maybe used -until .repairs 'may be conveniently made. f y. i A 'furthernobject is to so construct the Wheelfthat the shearing strain coming vupon the'clamp bolts holding the' spokes to the hub may be also borne by the spokes themselves.

Still another object is to so construct the Wheel thatthe repairs can be made without Special tools yorv experience.

Otherobjects will appear in the course of the ,following description.

My inventionisillustrated in the accompanvingv drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is'a fragmentary side elevation of a Vehicle wheel constructed in accordance with my invention, some of the parts being broken away and some of the parts being in section. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through `the Wheel showninfFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary transverse,y section showing a portion of the annulus and the hub, `and also showing the outer 4clamp plate, the spokes not being in place; Fig. 1 is a fragmentary transverse se'ctionalfview showing a modi- Y tied form of rim or felly.

Referring to these drawings, and'particularly to Fig. :2, 2 designates `an axle of i Spweciicaztioiilf lietters VEatent.

HAMMOND INDIANA.. y

any vsuitable. character having the tapering 'i f @fr 1 A l v `Patented Apr'. a, A191 Application filed January 9, 1915. Serial No. 1,364'. n

spindle 3 whichis exteriorly screw threaded at its outer end as at f1.

VMounted upon the axle 3 and either fixed` thereto or rotating independentlythereof,

as occasion may require, is a hub 5. The interior of this isofl course tapering-to fit upon the tapering spindle 3. This yhub vis, formed with the annular projecting por-v tion' which is preferably for the sake of lightness made hollow, and on each side of such projecting portion 6 the hub is formed with 'the seats 7 and 8. The outer and inner faces'of the annular portion 6 are provided with a series of .radially disposed spoke seats 9,and between these seats are trans- 'loC verse passages orthe reception of certain bolts 10 hereinafter referred to.

Coacting with the annular portion .6 are the outer and inner clamp plates 11 and 12, respectively. The outer clamp plate l1l is formed with a plurality of radially disposed spoke seats 13 which are semi-circular in cross section and which complement the spoke seats 9 on the confronting face of the annulus 6. The clamp plate 12 is also formed to iit over, surround and snugly fit the base of the spindle 3, and is formed with a recess 14 to .accommodate the projecting end 15 of the hub 5. The inner face of the clamp plate 12 is formed with a plurality of radially disposed recesses semicir'cular in f cross section, formingl the seats 16V com-- plementing the seats 9 formed upon the ad- ]acent 'face of the annulus 6: within these seats 9 and- 16 are theinner y ends of the resilient spokes designated gen- Disposed erally 17. -The spokes are made up of aA plurality of resilient rods, each of which is bentat its middle into'approximate U- shape so as to provide a medially disposed portion adapted to engage with the felly'of the wheel,- and two legs- 18 which extend upward parallel to each other, one of these legs yleeing disposed in the corresponding seat-'"'upon the outer face of the annulus 6 andl the other upon the corresponding seat upon the inner face of the annulus. Each ymember 17 at its middle, that is, atv its outer end, is transversely inwardly bent as at 19, the two legs extending laterally and slightly inward from` thisf-middle bend,

then being curved linwardand toward each other, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2.

' loop-portion Which thus provides suiiicient resilience lfor the outer ends of the spoke.

The felly 20 is of metal and may f be pressed, cast, or otherwise formedl It is approximately U-shape in cross section and at its middle' plane is'formed With an inwardly projecting rib 21 which at intervals is slotted as at 22 in order to accommodate the eyes 23 'formed upon eye bolts 24, the shanks of these bolts passinginward through these slots 22 and through Washers 25 which, as illustrated in Fig. 2, extend across the space at the base of the rib 21 and have beveled lateral, faces so as to have u'edging engagement with the base of the rib and provide a firm bearing for the shanks of the eye bolts. Each eye bolt is of course screw threaded at its exterior end and car-` ries a nut 2G. This nut is castellated, that is, provided with a den'tated annulus 27 through any of Whose notches passes acotter pin 28, which cotter pin passes through an opening in the bolt by which the nut is' locked in any desired adjusted position. It will be noted that the rib 21 fits snugly into the bend 19 of each spoke, and that the rim therefore has snug engagement with the spokes by the action of the eye bolts 24. As before statedr` the rim or felly 20 is .of metal and approximately U-shape in cross section so as to provide the sides 29 through which pass bolts 30, these bolts holding the tire 31 in place. This tire vmay be made of solid rubber or any other suitable material, the inner face of the tire being formed with a groove 32 to accommodate the projecting ends of the eye bolts 24.

The inner ends of the spoke legs are held in position on the annulus G by the clamp plates 11 and 12,-these platesinturn being held in engagement with the hub by means of the transverse bolts 10 previously described. Thus the spokes are held rigidly in position. y

The outer end of the spindle 3 is screw threaded for the .reception ot' a castellated nut 33 ivhich bears against the annular hub 5 and holds it firmly in position upon the spindle 3. This castellated nut is formed with a plurality of slots 34 through which a cotter pin 35 passes, and inclosing this nut and having screw threaded engagement with the spindle is. a cap nut 3G. Of course I do not ivish to be limited to this manner of holding the hub upon the spindle. If a wheel is designed to be used with a brake drum, the brake drum designated 33 is preferably cast upon the inner clamping member 12, and it will be noted that the bolts 10 are relieved of the shearing strain produced by the brake by the engagement of the inside spoke ends with the plate 12, these Spoke ends acting as keys. .If it is :desired that vthe wheel revolve on its axis lthe hub may be made to receive a bushing` anda lock nut may be vused instead of a cap nut on the'outside end of the hub. 0f .course it is obvious thatthe'spoke may be formed to different'radii than shown in order to suit different classes of service and that the shape ofthe spokes may be .varied andalso that a greater or less numberofvbolts 10 and 30 may be used on' the hub and rim, depending on the size and 'strength .of the Wheel. lnstead'of the rib 21 being pressed out of the material ofthe rim a solid rib might be used, as illustrated in Fig. '-1, Where 2O" designates 4the rim and 21% the rib.

It will be seen that a solid tirernight be used with my wheel.l and thus the defects common to infiated tires may be obviated. The Wheel is so simply made that the total cost of the Wheel and tire will be less than that of an inflated tire Wheel.- The Wheel is strong, durable, and being made entirely of metal is not alected by heat or dampness. One or more spokes may be broken or damaged Without impairing the strength of the Wheel surrounding the rim, and the looseends of the Vbroken spokes may be cut ofi close to the rim so that these ends will not ouiiy part of the vehicle. Because of the elastic nature of the spokes the Wheel will have sufficient resilience to make it easy riding, and it may be particularly noted at this point that the formation of the outer hand that from these points 17a each spoke extends laterally outward and toward the center of the wheel. Thus as the lSpoke is deflected under loads the tivo portions on each side of the point 17a will be forced invvard against the resilience of the Wire, thus deadening any shock.`

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A wheel of Ithe character described comprising a hub, a plurality of approximately U-shaped y spokes operatively connected with the hub and extending radially therefrom. each of said spokes being formed ot' a length 'of resilient metal, the middle outer portion 'of the spoke being formed to provide a medially disposed inwardly extendingsemicircular bend, a rim having a medially disposed circumferentially extending rib upon its inner face engaging in the mediallv disposed bends of the spokes, a

-tire carried b v the rim, and eye bolts conposed centrally extendingrib snugly engaging in -said bends, eye bolts passing lthrough the rim, the rim being slotted to accommodate the eyes of said eye bolts,

1spokes passing through" said eyes, nuts upon the inner ends of the eye bolts, a tire having a groove uponits inner face adaptedto accommodate said nuts, said tire fitting within .the rim, and bolts passing transversely' through the sides of the rim and through said tire.l

3. In a resilient wheel, a hub, a plurality of U-shaped spokes having their legs 0peratively connectedto the hub, each-spoke being disposed Wholly in a planetransverse. to the circumference of the Wheel, a rim,

means detachably connecting the middle portion of. the rim tothe middle of the outer end of each spoke,'each spoke on each side of said point of connection contacting with the rim and then extending in laterally divergent relation thereto whereby tact with' the rim may flex.

4. In a resilient Wheel, radially disposed approximately U-shaped spokes, a rim, each .the spoke on each side of its point of conspoke and the rim being .formed oneA with a rentrantly curved portion and the other with a curved portion concentric to said re` entrantly curved portion, and means detachably engaging the curved portion of each spoke withl the curved portion ofthe rim,

permitting those portions 'f the spokes on each side ofthe curved portion thereof to flex but connecting'the spokes and the rim for unitary circumferential movement.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affixA in the presence of two- Wltv soA 

